No, there is
not and never was any "version" of the Course which was referred to by
anyone associated with the scribing and publishing of the Course as the
so-called "Thetford Version."

The idea of a
"Thetford Version" was invented by people who were not directly involved
with the scribing and publishing of the Course and who came upon it many
years after it was first published, which was in 1975. After the HLV
had been illegally obtained and distributed on the Internet in the year
2000, these people decided that it was a more authentic version and one
for which Bill had taken primary editorial responsibility.

Bill Thetford
himself never spoke of a "Thetford Version" and no doubt would have been
amused and dismayed to hear of such a term. In fact, Bill had little patience
for such detail work as editing a manuscript required. Interestingly, even
thought he served as Associate Editor for the Journal of Abnormal Psychology,
because of his dislike for editing work, Helen Schucman actually did the
journal editing for him. Helen too never used the term "Thetford Version,"
and could hardly have been expected to use it, having referred to it on
occasion as "my course." Although Helen was always primarily responsible
for the editing, Helen and Bill worked closely together on the initial
editing which resulted in what is called "The
Hugh-Lynn Version," in recognition of the fact that a copy of that
version was given as a gift of appreciation for his consultation and support
to Hugh Lynn Cayce, son of Edgar Cayce and Director of the Association
for Research and Enlightenment at the time.

Interestingly,
when the final editing for publication was done, it was Bill who insisted
that the number of "miracle principles" found at the beginning of the HLC
version of the text be reduced from 53 to 50 for the final and officially
published version -- another piece of information that illustrates the
lack of understanding underlying the claim that somehow Bill's authority
was overridden in the editing which produced the first published edition
of A Course in Miracles.

In 1985 there
was a "Ten Year Celebration" of the Course held in Honolulu. Bill
Thetford, who had remained active in study groups using the published Course,
spoke at that celebration. Wayne Davidson of Seattle attended the
Honolulu gathering and gave the following first-hand account regarding
Bill's statements about the work that Helen did in the final editing of
the Course for publication.

Bill
talked about this at the 10 year (1985) Honolulu celebration gathering.
Bill's version was that after Ken came on the scene he felt he was being
guided by Jesus to leave to Helen, Ken and Jesus the further work needed
to make the ACIM ready for publication and wider distribution. In fact
the guidance came in response to a prayer to Jesus for clarity on what
Bill's continuing role might be. Bill said he felt relieved and felt the
relief was a direct reflection of his joining with Jesus. He even had a
sense that Jesus was smiling and complimenting Bill on fulfilling his role
so well and with such devotion. Bill said he was always consulted by Helen
and Ken to take a look at what they had accomplished but soon realized
that was totally unnecessary because he could see the hand of Jesus in
the work.

So, the question
arises, how did anyone ever come up with the phrase "Thetford Version?"
The answer has to do with certain people's resentment of the fact that
the Course was copyrighted along with distrust of those who are responsible
for publishing the authorized version of A Course in Miracles. Some
of those people thought that the HLC was easier to understand and, after
the urtext was
also illegally obtained and distributed, decided that they could do a better
job of editing the Course and wanted to publish their own version. Since
the copyright litigation was resolved, setting aside copyright in the very
first ACIM publication called "The Criswell Edition," those people have
proceeded to distribute unauthorized versions of the Course variously called:
"Jesus' Course in Miracles," "The Original Course in MIracles," and so
forth. (Note that copyright in all of the changes and improvements found
in the Second and Third editions of the official, authorized A
Course in Miracles remains in force, along with copyright in the
Course Preface and Clarification of Terms as well as the two supplementary
pamphlets now included in the Third Edition.)

The official publisher
of the authorized Course is the Foundation
for Inner Peace.The
latest Third Edition of the Course published by the Foundation now contains
all of the improvements made in the Second Edition through painstaking
editorial review along with the two supplementary pamphlets. This Third
Edition contains on the cover a gold seal which states: "The only complete
Course as authorized by its scribe & published by its original publisher."